Maria da Visitação, agroecological farmer and member of PROVE – Aiana de Cima, Sesimbra, Setúbal

Maria da Visitação, 82 years-old, is originally from the Algarve, where she has had a strong connection with agriculture since childhood. She recalls the importance of selecting the best seeds for the next harvest: “My grandmother would choose the wheat, the best beans, the best grain, everything that was best to sow again. That remains in our memory.”

She came to the industrial city of Barreiro at the age of 15, where she lived for years in an area heavily polluted by industry, which affected her health. Around the age of 50, she decided to start organic farming at Quinta dos Medronheiros in Sesimbra. Her interest in chemical-free cultivation arose for health reasons and was influenced by her son, who continues farming today.

Right from the start, Maria da Visitação sought to learn more and became a member of Agrobio, an association supporting organic farming, where she took various courses. She started selling in shops, but “if there was defective fruit they didn’t want it, if there was a bug bite, they didn’t want it”. She started going to fairs and markets, but heard from other producers: “Natural is mine, mine is natural. That’s organic, that doesn’t interest anyone.”

Her involvement in organic farming led her to join the PROVE project – right from the start, around 20 years ago – which promotes the direct sale of agricultural products through baskets. She remembers the first meetings of the project, where there were 30-40 farmers: “Nobody wanted to join, just me and these ladies.” It was four women who started PROVE and promoted it in the early years. Over time, more producers wanted to take part after seeing the success of the initiative.

Maria da Visitação says she faced prejudice for being a woman and for practising organic farming. She was called a “witch” and accused of being part of “religious sects”. Despite the difficulties, she persisted: “I never gave up on anything.”

She emphasises the presence of women in this movement for sustainable agriculture: “Women are mothers, they are creators. And there are things they know how to overcome.” For her, women show greater resilience and adaptability, especially in times of crisis. She emphasises that many women play a fundamental role in cultivation, seed selection and caring for the land.

Selling directly through Prove has provided a closer bond with consumers, something that Maria values very much: “I have customers from 30 years ago who now bring their children and grandchildren”. For her, this relationship goes beyond the commercial, creating bonds of trust and shared values. Today, she feels fulfilled by her career and happy to be part of Prove: “It’s good to meet many people with the same sense of life, agriculture and preserving the environment.”

Another essential aspect of her work is the preservation of traditional seeds. She uses old varieties, some brought from her homeland, because she believes in the importance of biodiversity: “If we don’t keep it, what’s left for those to come? Nothing”. She actively participates in the Colher para Semear association that defends the conservation of agricultural heritage.

She points out that organic farming is still not properly valued, but that doesn’t bother her: “I feel good about myself, the way I do things.” She thinks there should be more training, as many farmers in the region are unaware of sustainable practices. According to her, conventional farmers use chemicals excessively and ineffectively, harming the environment and their health.

Maria da Visitação believes that the authorities only favour intensive agriculture. She also points to the lack of incentives for small farmers and criticises bureaucracy.

For the future, Maria da Visitação wants agriculture to be more sustainable and less dependent on chemical products: “So that the water we can drink is clean, so that the air we can breathe is pure, so that our children and grandchildren can survive”. Proud of her occupation, she encourages farmers to take up their profession without shame, “with dirty hands and dirty clothes, because it’s the heads of people who don’t think about the well-being of others that are dirty.” She says that being a farmer “is a despised profession, but it’s the basic one. There’s nothing we have that doesn’t come from the land. […] Everything we have comes from the land”, she concludes.